American Social Welfare Policy

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This best-selling text provides a comprehensive overview of social welfare policy in the United States while examining cutting-edge issues, including information on the 2008 presidential election, the economy, and much more.

Each chapter concludes with Conclusion Discussion Questions and Notes

Preface

American Social Welfare Policy

Social Policy and the American Welfare State

Definitions of Social Welfare Policy

Social Problems and Social Welfare Policy

Social Work and Social Policy

Values, Ideology, and Social Welfare Policy

The Political Economy of American Social Welfare

The U.S. Economic Continuum

Keynesian Economics

Conservative or Free Market Economics

Democratic Socialism

The U.S. Political Continuum

Liberalism and Left-of-Center Movements

Classical Conservatives and the Far Right

The Welfare Philosophers and the Neoconservative Think Tanks

Social Welfare Policy Research: a Framework for Policy Analysis

A Proposed Model for Policy Analysis

Historical Background of the Policy

Problem(s) That Necessitate the Policy

Policy Description

Policy Analysis

Researching and Analyzing Social Policies

Social Policy Research and the Internet

Journals and Online Research

Online Data Collection

Ethical Concerns Related to Online Research Involving Human Subjects

Finding and Accessing Online Information

Citing and Documenting Information Obtained Online

Evaluating Reliable and Legitimate Internet Sources

Electronic Journals: An Increasingly Popular Venue

Online Publishing

Religion and Social Welfare Policy

Religious Antecedents of Welfare Statism

The English Poor Laws

Church, State, and Social Welfare in Colonial America

The Second Great Awakening

The Civil War Era

The Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

The Rise Of Social Work As A Profession

Urban Needs During Industrialization

Charity Organization Societies

Settlement Houses

The Social Casework Agency

The Progressive Movement

Religion and the Post-Industrial Welfare State

The Fundamentalist Controversy and Its Aftermath

The Great Depression and New Deal

Patterns of Religious Change

Religion and the New Media

Secularization

The Reawakening of a Religious Social Conscience and the Great Society

The Continuing Decline of Mainline Influence

The New Christian Right

Discrimination in American Society

Discrimination

Racism

The Minority Middle Class

Discrimination against African Americans

The "Diswelfare" of African Americans

Hispanic Americans

The Demography of Hispanic Americans

Hispanic Poverty and Income

Diversity in the Hispanic Population

Native Americans

Asian Americans

Immigrants and Immigration

Women and Society

Violence and Sexism

The Feminization of Poverty

Women and Low-Income Work

Women and Work

Income and Job Disparities between Men and Women

Day Care: A Barrier to Female Employment

Women in Uniform

Other Obstacles Faced by Working Women

Fighting Back: The Equal Rights Amendment and Comparable Worth

Abortion and Women's Rights

Gays and Lesbians: Two Populations at Risk

Violence against Gays and Lesbians

Gay Rights

Gay and Lesbians in the Military

Gay and Lesbian Family Life

AIDS and the Gay Community

Ageism

The Elderly Poor and Social Programs

Health Care and the Elderly

People with Disabilities

Legal Attempts to Remedy Discrimination

Affirmative Action

Poverty in America

Some Theoretical Formulations about Poverty

African Americans and Poverty

The Culture of Poverty

Eugenics and Poverty

The Radical School and Poverty

Who Make Up the Poor?

U.S. Poverty Highlights

Measuring Poverty

Families and Poverty

Child Support Enforcement

Children in Poverty

Poverty and the Elderly

The Urban and Rural Poor

Work and Poverty

A Profile of the Working Poor

Why Are There Working Poor?

Underemployment and Unemployment

Job Training Programs

Dual Labor Markets

The Minimum Wage and Poverty

Strategies Developed to Combat Poverty

IDAs

Three Approaches to Combat Poverty

The Digital Divide

America's Fringe Economy

The Unbanked and the Functionally Poor

Credit and the Poor

The Furniture and Appliance Rental Industry

Cash Loans

Pawnshops

Car Title Pawns

Payday Loans

Tax Refund Loans (RALs)

Check-Cashing

Transportation in the Fringe Economy

The Voluntary And For-Profit Social Sectors

The Voluntary Sector Today

Structural Interests within Social Welfare

Traditional Providers

Welfare Bureaucrats

Clinical Entrepreneurs

Human Service Executives

Marginal Interests

The Forgotten Sector

Advancing Social Justice

Contemporary Nonprofit Human Service Organizations

The United Way

Elite Philanthropy

The Future of the Voluntary Sector

Commercialization

Faith-Based Social Services

Social Entrepreneurship

Privatization and Human Service Corporations

Concerns about Privatization

Privatizing Public Welfare

Issues in the Privatization of Health and Human Services

Commercialization

Preferential Selection

Cost-Effectiveness

Standardization

Oligopolization

The Challenge of Privatization

Unions and the Private Sector

Corporate Welfare

History of the Corporate Sector

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Influence on Social Welfare Policy

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI)

The Heritage Foundation

The Future of Corporate Involvement in Social Welfare

Human Service Corporations

The Scope of Human Service Corporations

Consolidation and Growth in Human Service Markets

Nursing Homes

Hospital Management

Health Maintenance Organizations

Child Care

Home Health Care

Corrections

Life Care and Continuing Care

The Government Sector

The Making of Governmental Policy

Technical Aspects of the Policy Process

A Critical Analysis of the Policy Process

The Policy Process

Social Stratification

Formulation

Legislation

Implementation

Evaluation

Non-Decision Making

Social Workers and Social Reform

Social Work and Advocacy Organizations

Advocacy Organizations and the New Policy Institutes

Political Practice

Tax Policy and Income Distribution

History of U.S. Tax Policy

Tax Policy and Special Interests

Federal Tax Policy

The Efficiency of Tax Policy in Reducing Poverty

Tax Expenditures as Poverty Policy

The Antitax Movement

Social Insurance Programs

Definition of Social Insurance

The Background of Social Insurance

The Financial Organization of Social Insurance

Key Social Insurance Programs

OASDI

Unemployment Insurance

Workers' Compensation

The Social Security Dilemma

Arguments against the Current Social Security System

Arguments for the Current Social Security System

Social Security in Trouble

The Long-Term Prospects for Social Security

Proposed Solutions for Social Security

Should We Privatize Social Security?

Public Assistance Programs

Some Assumptions That Underlie Public Assistance

Myths about Public Assistance

Aid to Families with Dependent Children

The Evolution of the AFDC Program

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996